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“Dmitri hasn’t told me any of this. Not a word of it. Why did he keep all of that from me?”
“That’s just Dmitri,” Catherine said, squeezing my hand. “He probably didn’t want to burden you. He’s been like that his whole life, always taking the weight of the world on his shoulders. Like, after his parents were killed, he dropped out of college and took care of all five of his sisters. And he was only nineteen. Dmitri took care of me as well, since I didn’t have a mom or a step mom, and God knows my father wasn’t looking after me. It had to be so hard, taking care of so many people. But he never complained, and never once asked anyone for help. That’s just how he is.”
“Oh God,” I murmured. “That poor, wonderful man.”
“He loves you so much, Jamie.” She held my gaze and said, “The morning after he met you, Dmitri texted me. He said, ‘I met the love of my life last night. I’m in so much trouble.’ And he’s right. This thing between the two of you? It’s going to blow up in his face. And how do you think a man as sweet and sensitive as Dmitri is going to fare after my father kills one of his sisters to get Dmitri in line? Or after he kills you? If my father hurts or kills someone Dmitri loves, he might as well put a bullet in my cousin’s brain, too. Because there’s no coming back from something like that, not for Dmitri.”
“Sokolov has to be stopped, that’s the bottom line. That monster needs to be in jail.” And then I remembered I was talking to his daughter, and said, “No offense.”
“None taken. I know what my father is, and I hate him for it.” Catherine hugged her knees to her chest. “But he’s not going to jail. He’s too smart for that.”
“We have to do something, Catherine. We have to help Dmitri.”
“I’m trying to help him. That’s why I’m here, two weeks into the fall semester, why I put everything on hold and hopped on a plane. I hoped I could talk some sense into him.” She sighed again and said, “But now that I’ve met you I’d be a monster, too, if I told you to stay away from him. You’re exactly what I would want for my cousin. God, I should show you the texts I’ve gotten from Dmitri this week. He’s never been this happy. And it fucking kills me, Jamie, knowing you two are completely headed for disaster.”
I pressed my eyes shut for a long moment. And then I opened them and said, “Your father’s not infallible. There has to be some way of building a case against him, evidence somewhere that could send him to prison and get him out of the picture.”
She grinned at me. “Dmitri would fall for a cop. Just to make this all the more complicated.”
“Yeah, my family’s loving the whole mafia thing, too,” I told her.
“They’re right to be worried. If my father finds out you and Dmitri are getting this close, he’ll probably decide to be proactive and take you out, even without knowing you’re derailing his wedding plans. You need to watch yourself, Jamie.”
“Thanks for the concern, but I’ll be fine. Police officers are trained to be alert, to always watch for potential danger.”
“Jamie, you’re not going to see a mafia hit man coming. That’s how they operate, surprise attack and all that.”
“Shit,” I muttered, and closed my eyes again.
“Ok, see? Now you’re finally getting it. You’re in danger. Dmitri’s family is in danger. This is the level of fucked-upedness we’re dealing with here.”
“I mean, for me, I’ll gladly take the risk. I’d do anything to be with Dmitri. But that his family’s in danger, God.” I looked at Catherine. “Your Dad, he can’t really be that big of a monster, can he? He wouldn’t really harm innocent women and children just to keep Dmitri in line and this fake marriage on track. Would he?”
“Of course he would. My father is ruthless and ambitious. He doesn’t give a shit about anyone but himself.” She pushed a stray tendril of hair behind her ear. “Charming, huh? It’s really special, being the daughter of Satan.” She reached for the vodka and poured herself a shot, then tossed it back and exclaimed, “Gah! That’s super gross straight.”
“Look, we’re going to figure this out. You, me and Dmitri.”
“We’re sure as hell gonna try.” She got out of bed then and picked up the big tray. “Do you want any more of this?”
“No thanks.”
“Sorry to make you lose your appetite. I’ve lost mine too, which is a shame, because those sundaes were epic. Well, look, I need to send a few texts. I took off in a hurry, and I need to see if some of my friends can keep me updated on my classes. I’ll be back in a few.” And she left the room.
